Airport Rail Link for Melbourne

14 April, 2018Author: Matt Graham

Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport may finally receive a rail link to the city! After countless reports, studies and broken promises from successive governments, it seems the Melbourne airport train project may finally come into fruition within the next decade.

The federal government has committed up to $5 billion for construction of the Melbourne airport train link, although an agreement would still need to be reached with the Victorian state government.

The details are yet to be revealed, but a Melbourne airport train service would certainly be welcome news for airline passengers and airport staff travelling to Melbourne Airport. Currently, SkyBus has a monopoly bus service from Melbourne Airport to the CBD. The problem is that heavy traffic on the Tullamarine Freeway can make the bus excruciatingly slow. The Melbourne Airport SkyBus service is certainly not cheap either, at $19 one-way.

At present, it is possible to take a train from Melbourne’s CBD to Broadmeadows station, using the 901 bus for the short remaining journey. This is not only much cheaper, but can even be quicker during peak hours as serfty recently discovered:

Earlier this year I decided to use Skybus from Spencer St to the Airport – 5pm on Friday afternoon. Cost $16.20 (10% discount).The bus did not arrive at T3 until 6:05pm.

Last month on a Friday at 5pm, I tool a 5pm train Flinders St. to Broadmeadows and a 901 bus to the airport. Cost was moot as I had a 365 day Myki pass.The 901 bus arrived T4 at 5:55pm.

Both Sydney and Brisbane already have airport train services – as do most major cities in the developed world. Although, it’s worth noting that Auckland Airport, the busiest in New Zealand, also still lacks an airport train service. An Auckland Airport rail link has been promised, but it won’t be up and running for another thirty (yes, thirty) years!

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 50 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, New Zealand & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.